Fine Cider
I recently visited cider and perry pear orchards across Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Devon. In the hands of skilled makers, cider can be as fine as wine. The complexity and finesse is there and respect for apple varieties is soaring. As for presentation, check out the range online at thefinecider.company – revolutionary. Next time you’re serving bangers and mash, pork or a cheeseboard, cider hits the bullseye.
CIDER OF THE WEEK
Do It Puritan Damson & Perry 2020 (7.6%), £17.50, littlepomona.com. Joyful fragrance, fruity exuberance, this ‘summer pudding in a glass’ made my wife dance round the kitchen with delight.
OLLY’S PICK OF THE BUNCH
Pulpt Flare (4.9%), £2.20, Tesco. The most authentic widely available cider on the high street, just brilliant for recapturing that festival feeling.
Devon Red Sandford Orchards (4.5%), £2.25, Morrisons. Lush, fruity, silky and splendid, this is a disco in a glass and dangerously drinkable.
Oliver’s Fine Keeved Perry 2020 (3.3%), £10, oliversciderandperry.co.uk. Light, dazzlingly delicious, this low-alcohol perry is liquid splendour – try with goat’s cheese salad.
Find & Foster Pet Nat 2020 ‘Allan’ (5.5%), £14, findandfosterfineciders.com. A faint echo of bubbles frame an exotic layered masterpiece to pair with a cheeseboard.
This article was originally published in YOU Magazine, Mail on Sunday, 28th November 2021 – Prices, stockists and vintages correct at time of publication.
